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How do you know where to mine?
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Like, how does anyone even figure out where to start looking for a mineral deposit?
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And what steps do you take to make sure there actually is a deposit before mining even begins?
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These are the kinds of questions people in mineral exploration ask themselves every day.
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Today, Amelia and I are diving into all of that and more.
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Welcome back to Grounded, Mining the Facts.
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Today we're talking about something that's really close to my heart: mineral exploration.
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I worked for an exploration company during and after college, and honestly, that experience is what pulled me into the minerals industry in the first place.
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See, I've always thought mineral exploration sounded fascinating.
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It seems like one of those jobs where you're outside, constantly exploring, discovering new places, seeing things most people never get to see.
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Fieldwork is definitely a huge part of it.
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You're sampling different areas, running surveys, and trying to figure out whether you're even in the right spot for the type of deposit you're hoping to find.
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So what does that whole process look like?
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I imagine there are a lot of stages.
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Oh, absolutely.
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And it also depends on whether the project is greenfield or brownfield.
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Okay.
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Could you explain the difference between greenfield and brownfield?
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Of course.
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A greenfield project basically means no one has done substantial exploration in that area before.
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You're starting from scratch, collecting data, building maps, everything.
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Brownfield is the opposite.
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There has been exploration or previous mining, so you have a lot of data to work with.
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That gives companies a head start on figuring out where to drill and what the deposit might look like.
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Got it.
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So knowing the history of the site matters.
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Exactly.
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But for today, let's pretend everything is greenfield so we can walk through the full process.
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That sounds good.
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Like most good things, exploration starts with research.
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Without that stage, it's almost impossible to get a project off the ground.
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Especially because exploration is usually funded by investors or companies trying to secure future resources.
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After research, the focus shifts to claim staking and permitting.
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You have to stake your claims so no one else can explore the same land that you're exploring.
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And the permitting process truly does depend on where you are.
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For example, here in South Dakota, companies have to submit an exploration notice of intent or an EXI.
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Within one to two months, the state issues a restriction letter outlining any additional requirements.
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Once all the permits, like stormwater, for example, are in place, drilling can begin.
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So what actually goes into an exploration notice of intent?
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Quite a bit, actually.
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You submit the notice itself, a reclamation plan, a completed certification of applicant form, it took a graphic map of the proposed exploration area, the$250 application fee, and written consultation with the service owner about the reclamation processes and preferences, and a reclamation bond determined by the department.
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And then you also have to file annual reports about all activities that you have completed on the work site.
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Wow, it sounds like a lot actually goes into that process.
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Definitely.
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And it gets even more complicated on federal land.
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Really?
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How so?
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Well, if you're on federal or public land, you have to follow both the state regulations and the regulations of the federal agency overseeing the land.
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So yes, multiple permits for the same project.
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That sounds like a lot of hoops to jump through.
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It is.
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And both the state and federal agencies oversee reclamation and drill hole plugging.
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What does a company actually do while waiting on these permits?
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Great question.
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They might do limited field sampling, rock grabs, outcrop mapping, that sort of thing.
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And then once they have permission, they can run more thorough soil sampling programs.
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Sampling makes a lot of sense, but I'm curious as to how they actually process those samples.
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You can't just look at dirt and know what's below it.
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Well, that's very true.
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And after the samples are collected and prepped, they're sent to an accredited lab for fire assay testing.
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Load full transcript
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The lab returns an elemental analysis.
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Then the company plots those results on a map based on sample location and number in order to have a corresponding comprehensive map.
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So that means that you can see patterns, like where certain elements are concentrated.
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Right.
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And companies also run different surveys, like geophysical and geochemical surveys, to detect anomalies that might indicate a deposit.
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It's wild how many different methods go into figuring out where to explore next.
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It really is.
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And all of that leads to one of the biggest stages, exploratory drilling.
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What is exploratory drilling?
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Well, exploratory drilling is how companies get core samples from deep underground.
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It's one of the only ways to directly see what's beneath the surface and start mapping structures.
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You mentioned a core sample.
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What exactly is that?
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It's basically just a cylinder of rock, usually about three inches in diameter, sometimes smaller.
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Or depending on the drilling method, it might just be crushed rock.
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There are two major types of drilling: diamond bit drilling, which produces core, and recirculatory drilling, which produces cuttings.
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We'll get into that more next episode.
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I don't want to spoil anything, because I know the Timberland guys are excited.
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Well, now I'm curious.
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Oh, you should be.
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They are a hood.
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And after years of drilling, sampling, and mapping, if a company thinks they've found a resource, they start resource modeling.
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So up to this point, they're mostly collecting and interpreting raw data?
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Pretty much.
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Some companies start modeling during drilling to help decide where to move the drill next, but it's pretty much just raw data.
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I suppose that means it's not always a straight line.
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Exactly.
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After resource modeling, if it looks like a viable resource and the company wants to move forward toward development, that's when all the big studies begin.
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You mean they can't just get mining permits once they find something?
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Oh no.
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You have to figure out how you'd mine it, what the rock above the deposit looks like, the feasibility of opening a mine there, the economics, what the mine would look like, how it would be reclaimed, environmental considerations, archaeological studies, everything.
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All of that has to be done before mine permitting even begins.
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Wow.
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Finding the deposit almost sounds like the easy part.
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Honestly, I feel like that too sometimes.
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Many exploration projects never find anything.
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And even when they do, the project can stall for all kinds of reasons.
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With so many of these moving parts, how do companies even keep track of samples and keep employees safe?
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Great question.
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While mineral exploration doesn't fall under MSHA like mines do, health and safety plans are still standard.
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I remember in one of our last episodes, Colin talked about safety.
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Do exploration projects follow similar rules?
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They do.
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Weekly or even daily safety meetings, personal protective equipment, health and safety plans that outline how to stay safe, how to report an incident, emergency procedures, nearest hospitals, everything.
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That's pretty comprehensive.
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Very.
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The project I worked on even included info about wildlife and plants that workers might encounter.
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Oh, that sounds amazing.
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And then there's the sampling and analysis plan, or the SAP, as exploration geologists like to call it, which is even more detailed.
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More amazing than wildlife sections?
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I mean, I'm a pretty boring person, so yes, even more amazing than wildlife sections.
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A SAP outlines who handles samples, how they're documented, what standards and duplicate rates to use, and how to ensure scientific consistency.
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Companies even insert their own standards and duplicates to make sure the lab is processing samples correctly.
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I had no idea that so much went into handling dirt and rock.
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Honestly, same.
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But it's crucial.
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And now you know, mineral exploration is way more than geologists wandering around looking at rocks.
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Join us next time as we discuss what's beneath the drill.